1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to chip devices for electronic systems that are operational to modify microwave signals. In particular, the invention relates to a device for the attenuation of an input microwave signal to a fixed power level.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fixed-chip attenuators are designed to attenuate a signal to a fixed power level. Attenuators are commonly used in communication and audio devices, which often have strict size requirements. Multiple levels of attenuation typically require multiple separate attenuation devices. Until now, it was not believed to be possible to provide multiple levels of attenuation on a single chip because of interference that adversely affects the quality of signals in closely adjacent attenuators. The need to use separate different devices to accomplish multiple levels of attenuation is an inefficient use of available space in an electronic device. In view of the ever increasing demand for more compactness in large-scale integration (LSI) electronic devices, it would be desirable to have a single microchip device which provides multiple levels of attenuation, but which requires less space than multiple discrete devices. Such a device would allow multiple levels of signal attenuation in a single device. In addition, a switch could be used to allow the user to cycle between various levels of attenuation.